Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Suspect Identified in Ambush Shooting That Killed 2 Idaho Firefighters

11 hours ago

Will Valadao Spoil Trump’s Plan for July 4th ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Signing?

13 hours ago

Shaver Lake and Reedley 4th of July Shows Are Wednesday. Who Else Is Celebrating?

16 hours ago

Elon Musk Says Senate Bill Would Destroy Jobs and Harm US

16 hours ago

Israel Strikes Pound Gaza, Killing 60, Ahead of US Talks on Ceasefire

17 hours ago

Trump’s Administration Finds Harvard Violated Students’ Civil Rights, WSJ Reports

18 hours ago

How Did the Supreme Court Rule? Here’s a Look at the Big Cases

3 days ago
Walters: Trumpies Rightfully Reduced Oroville Dam Aid
alexis_meetourstaff-300x300-1
By Alexis DeSha, Graphic Designer
Published 6 years ago on
March 13, 2019

Share

California’s Democratic political leaders fancy themselves leaders of the anti-Donald Trump “resistance” and are engaged in legal and political conflict with the White House on dozens of specific issues.

Opinion

Dan Walters
CALmatters Commentary

When the Trump administration declared last week that it would not reimburse California for $306 million of the $1.1 billion cost of responding to the near-failure of the Oroville Dam two years ago, many saw it as just another front in the Sacramento-Washington feud.

Thus, when the Trump administration declared last week that it would not reimburse California for $306 million of the $1.1 billion cost of responding to the near-failure of the Oroville Dam two years ago, many saw it as just another front in the Sacramento-Washington feud.

In this case, however, the Trumpies are right, and California politicians should be grateful that the federal disaster aid isn’t zero.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency correctly concluded that it—meaning all U.S. taxpayers—shouldn’t have to pay for preventable structural problems that existed before the dam’s two spillways collapsed.

During the very wet winter of 2016-17, Oroville, the most important piece of California’s state water system, filled rapidly. Dumping water down the dam’s main spillway and into the Feather River enlarged a fault in the concrete slope that quickly widened and deepened into a cavernous hole.

Costs for the Emergency Response and Repairs to the Dam Are Heavy

Fearing that the spillway would collapse, the dam’s operators shut its gates, and as the reservoir behind the dam rose, it began spilling water from an auxiliary spillway. But the auxiliary opening—just a low place in the dam—poured water onto a dirt-and-rock face of the earthfill dam, causing massive erosion that threatened the structural integrity of the dam itself.

Reluctantly, but necessarily, operators reopened the main spillway’s gates to allow water to escape, virtually destroying it. Meanwhile, with the dam itself in jeopardy, nearly 200,000 people living downstream from the dam were evacuated.

Disaster was averted, but the costs for the emergency response and repairs to the dam are heavy, and the water agencies that rely on Oroville for their supplies—San Joaquin Valley farmers and Southern California residents, mostly—are on the financial hook for them.

The state applied to the feds for reimbursement of as much as 75 percent of those costs, arguing that it was a weather-caused emergency, much like a hurricane or a tornado.

It was a weak argument from the beginning, because it was apparent that the state had failed to fix defects in the main spillway when they first appeared and had rejected suggestions from outside groups that the auxiliary spillway be “armored” to protect the dam from erosion.

Spillway Chute Slab Failure Was Unexpected

A year after the incident, a panel of independent forensic engineers concluded in a 584-page report that the near-collapse of Oroville was caused not so much by weather but by poor design, construction and maintenance, calling it a “long-term systemic failure.”

“We believe otherwise and will work with FEMA to submit additional supporting information through the appeal process.” — Lisa Lien-Mager, a spokeswoman for the California Natural Resources Agency

“Due to the unrecognized inherent vulnerability of the design and as-constructed conditions and the chute slab deterioration, the spillway chute slab failure, although inevitable, was unexpected,” the panel’s report said.

In a nutshell, had the dam been constructed and maintained properly, it would have been fully capable of handling that winter’s rain and snow runoff. So the incident was caused by human incompetence and neglect, not by Mother Nature.

The feds are willing to give California $333 million to offset repair costs. Given the findings of the engineering panel, state officials should be grateful. However, they plan to appeal their claim’s partial rejection, which is based on pre-existing problems in the dam’s upper spillway.

“We believe otherwise and will work with FEMA to submit additional supporting information through the appeal process,” Lisa Lien-Mager, a spokeswoman for the California Natural Resources Agency, told the Sacramento Bee after last week’s announcement.

CALmatters is a public-interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters. For more stories by Dan Walters, go to calmatters.org/commentary.

[activecampaign form=19]

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Clovis Police Seek Public’s Help in Finding Missing 82-Year-Old Woman

DON'T MISS

Fresno Woman Killed in Head-On Collision, CHP Investigating

DON'T MISS

Musk Vows to Punish Lawmakers Who Back Trump’s Spending Bill

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Sentenced to Nearly 6 Years for $4.2 Million Tech Startup Fraud

DON'T MISS

Bryan Kohberger Pleads Guilty in Murders of Four Idaho Students, ABC News Reports

DON'T MISS

Wildfire Near Lake Madera Country Estates Burns 12 Acres, Now 100% Contained

DON'T MISS

Fresno County CHP Arrest Two in Interstate 5 Drug, Gun, and Counterfeit Money Bust

DON'T MISS

California Seizes Over 600,000 Pounds of Illegal Fireworks. Newsom Calls for Safe Celebrations

DON'T MISS

Where Trade Talks Stand With Major US Partners Ahead of Tariffs-Hike Deadline

DON'T MISS

Labor Icon Huerta Breaks Ground on Fresno Park Bearing Her Name

UP NEXT

I Detest Netanyahu, but on Some Things He’s Actually Right

UP NEXT

Much of LA’s Community of Immigrants Is Hiding, Leaving a Hole in the Fabric of the City

UP NEXT

Things Netanyahu Might Say if Injected With Truth Serum

UP NEXT

California Politicians Ignore Ag’s Troubles, but Boost Movie Business

UP NEXT

Trump’s Courageous and Correct Decision to Bomb Iran

UP NEXT

How the Attacks on Iran Are Part of a Much Bigger Global Struggle

UP NEXT

Groceries Are Now a Luxury. So Is Breathing.

UP NEXT

California Politicians Agree on School Money, but Poor Test Scores Need Attention

UP NEXT

Sen. Alex Padilla: This Is How an Administration Acts When It’s Afraid

UP NEXT

Bay Area Transit Systems Want More Money. But Their Payrolls Soared as Ridership Declined

Fresno Man Sentenced to Nearly 6 Years for $4.2 Million Tech Startup Fraud

10 hours ago

Bryan Kohberger Pleads Guilty in Murders of Four Idaho Students, ABC News Reports

10 hours ago

Wildfire Near Lake Madera Country Estates Burns 12 Acres, Now 100% Contained

10 hours ago

Fresno County CHP Arrest Two in Interstate 5 Drug, Gun, and Counterfeit Money Bust

10 hours ago

California Seizes Over 600,000 Pounds of Illegal Fireworks. Newsom Calls for Safe Celebrations

10 hours ago

Where Trade Talks Stand With Major US Partners Ahead of Tariffs-Hike Deadline

11 hours ago

Labor Icon Huerta Breaks Ground on Fresno Park Bearing Her Name

11 hours ago

DOJ Announces Arrest, Indictments in North Korean IT Worker Scheme

11 hours ago

Fresno Man Arrested in Clovis for Sex-Related Crimes Against Minor

11 hours ago

Dyer’s Lobbying Works. Fresno Gets $100M for Downtown From State

11 hours ago

Clovis Police Seek Public’s Help in Finding Missing 82-Year-Old Woman

The Clovis Police Department is asking for the public’s help in locating an at-risk missing adult last seen on Thursday. Pathmani Goonawarde...

8 hours ago

Clovis Police are searching for Pathmani Goonawardena, 82, who went missing nearly three weeks ago and was last seen driving a white Volvo near Copper and Auberry, possibly en route to Coarsegold. (CHP)
8 hours ago

Clovis Police Seek Public’s Help in Finding Missing 82-Year-Old Woman

fresno
9 hours ago

Fresno Woman Killed in Head-On Collision, CHP Investigating

President Donald Trump and Elon Musk attend a press conference in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 30, 2025. (Reuters File)
10 hours ago

Musk Vows to Punish Lawmakers Who Back Trump’s Spending Bill

10 hours ago

Fresno Man Sentenced to Nearly 6 Years for $4.2 Million Tech Startup Fraud

Bryan Koberger, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students, listens during a hearing to overturn his grand jury indictment in Moscow, Idaho, U.S., October 26, 2023. (Reuters File)
10 hours ago

Bryan Kohberger Pleads Guilty in Murders of Four Idaho Students, ABC News Reports

The Blanca Fire, burning 12 acres northwest of Lake Madera Country Estates in Madera County, remains active with 0% containment and no reported injuries or structural damage as the cause is under investigation as of Monday, June 30, 2025. (CalFire)
10 hours ago

Wildfire Near Lake Madera Country Estates Burns 12 Acres, Now 100% Contained

Fresno County CHP arrested two on Interstate 5 after finding about one kilogram of suspected cocaine, a loaded ghost gun, and counterfeit money during a vehicle search on Sunday, June 29, 2025. (CHP)
10 hours ago

Fresno County CHP Arrest Two in Interstate 5 Drug, Gun, and Counterfeit Money Bust

Gov. Newsom warns Californians to celebrate the Fourth of July safely, emphasizing zero tolerance for illegal fireworks which have surged to over 600,000 pounds seized this year. (Shutterstock)
10 hours ago

California Seizes Over 600,000 Pounds of Illegal Fireworks. Newsom Calls for Safe Celebrations

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend